A simmering feud between Barack Obama and Joe Biden has been revealed in a new biography, shattering the brotherly relationship the pair projected during the 2008 presidential election campaign.
The 44th President is alleged to have found his vice so “condescending” he asked an aide: “Shoot. Me. Now.”
The Scranton-born Democrat is also accused of ‘betrayal’ for announcing that both he and the President supported gay marriage, before Obama had declared his position.
The Long Alliance: The Imperfect Union of Joe Biden and Barack Obama serves to crush the notion that the pair enjoyed the chummy relationship they were previously understood to share.
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at the daily economic briefing in the Oval Office.
Pete Souza.
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at a daily economic briefing in the Oval Office.
Pete Souza.
New York magazine’s Gabriel Debenedetti, author of the biography, asserts that the 79-year-old refused to yield to his Hawaii-born boss, saying: “My manhood is not negotiable.”
Obama is even said to have considered axing Biden as his running mate for the 2012 election in favour of Hillary Clinton, believing that his chances of remaining in the White House would be bolstered by pairing himself with the former First Lady over the former Delaware Senator.
Joe Biden and Barack Obama in Edgewood, Maryland
Tony Fischer.
The landmark political title, the first of its kind from Debenedetti, alleges that in 2020 the former Commander-in-Chief was reluctant in his support for Biden’s White House bid, initially believing his candidacy would be “unthinkably painful.”
The two men first crossed paths in a professional setting whilst working on the Senate Environment and Public Works committee.
The veteran Senator, as Obama saw it, had a tendency to “ramble, clearly loving every minute of it".
The would-be President is said to have confided in his advisor David Axelrod: “Joe Biden is a decent guy but man, that guy can just talk and talk. It's an incredible thing to see.”
In Condoleezza Rice’s confirmation hearing during George W.Bush’s presidency, Obama is alleged to have passed a staffer a note saying: 'Shoot. Me. Now,' as Biden addressed the hearing.
The book also claims, “The biggest insult to Biden was how little his input mattered to Obama's inner circle.
“Biden could hardly shake the suspicion that Obama's eggheads saw him as a foolish distraction they couldn't fully trust.”
The Long Alliance is due to be published on 13th September.